Compete to Defeat Brain Tumors

I am Ciara (Nitzel) Kilhoffer, the daughter of Patrick and Marcy Nitzel. They both were affected from different brain tumors. Here are their stories:

In 2010 Patrick was diagnosed with a large right frontal lobe meningioma after experiencing symptoms such as headache, fatigue, and left sided weakness. A craniotomy was performed followed with gamma knife radiation. He recovered well and continued with frequent scans. In 2016 he had reoccurrence requiring gamma knife once again. He passed away April 8, 2023 at the age of 63. Patrick is remembered as a true country boy! He was a dedicated father, hard-working, and filled everything with humor. He worked thirty years in the oil & gas industry and retired in 2020. He enjoyed the outdoors and tinkering with a variety of mechanical devices.

In 2021 Marcy began experiencing audio changes and pain down her left side that took her to a local ER. A cat scan revealed a lesion to her right temporal lobe. She then experienced a large seizure and brain swelling. She was treated in the ICU for two weeks. The exact etiology of the lesion was conflicting so a craniotomy was performed to biopsy the area and results yielded Glioblastoma Multiforme. She went on to complete 30 rounds of radiation followed with the standard treatment of Temadar. She lost her battle on June 8, 2023 at the age of 54. Marcy was fun loving, warm, and always up for a good time. Her work ethic was incredible and she took pride as the home care scheduler coordinator for Ascension Via Christi Hope in Wichita, KS.